


Christopher's Other Daddy

by rant_girl



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christopher Diaz Has Two Dads, Emotions, Episode: s03e12 Fools (9-1-1 TV), Feelings Realization, First Kiss, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Oblivious Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), POV Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29735478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rant_girl/pseuds/rant_girl
Summary: What if Eddie and Ana's first meeting had gone a little differently? Set right after they have finished discussing Christopher and before Eddie leaves the classroom.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz & Carla Price, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 117
Kudos: 1038





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno, I just couldn't help but think about it, and I mean we all know how much Chris likes to talk about Buck right?

“It was great to finally meet you−”

“It was great to meet you too,” Eddie said a little too eagerly for his own liking, and probably dopier too, if the side eye Carla was giving him was anything to go by. It had been a while since he’d met a woman he could potentially be interested in.

Ms. Flores seemed like maybe she had wanted to say something more. Carla excused herself, saying she'd meet Eddie outside, leaving them to it.

“But,” and there was a ‘but’? Eddie didn’t know why there was a ‘but’, his brow scrunching a little, great, he’d already screwed things up somehow, “I was hoping to meet your husband too, though. Was he on shift tonight?”

Eddie blinked, “My _husband_?”

She thought he was married. She thought he was _gay_. And married. 

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume you were married. Your partner? Buck. The way Christopher talks and writes about him, I can tell he loves him very much.”

“ _Writes_ about him?”

“Well, Buck usually makes an appearance or two, usually alongside you, in Christopher's personal writing. And some of his creative writing too. But,” and she paused as something seemingly occurred to her, “he didn't let you read his last assignment?”

Eddie shook his head and Ana led him to the wall at the back of the class, where half a dozen or so typed essays were displayed. And there right in front of him at chest level was Christopher's:

_My Other Daddy_

_by Christopher Diaz_

"We were writing about heroes,” Ms. Flores said, “And these were the best in the class."

Eddie didn't find either of those facts surprising. That Christopher's essay was one of the best. Or that he chose to write about Buck.

_My hero is Evan Buckley. But everyone calls him Buck. He's also my other dad..._

Eddie couldn't take in any of the other words after that. His mind going into orbit.

"Can I take this home?" He wanted a little more privacy, and time to calm the fuck down, to read the rest.

"Why don't you take his workbook home? The kids wrote them by hand first."

Eddie just nodded, that was probably a better idea, Chris would notice if his essay were missing from the display. He didn't want to upset his son. Make him doubt even for a second that his work wasn’t still worthy of the wall.

But he was going to have to have a conversation with him about this. Eddie had no idea how he managed to get himself outside. One second he was giving a polite goodbye to Christopher’s English teacher and the next he was standing in front of Carla.

“You wanna talk about that?” she asked.

It took a second for Eddie to fully come back online, “She said she wanted to meet my husband. She thought _Buck_ was my husband.”

Carla snorted with a huff of a laugh, “Mmhmm. And what she say when you corrected her?”

“I, uh−” Eddie cleared his throat, “didn't exactly…”

Carla's brow shot up at that.

“Well she doesn't think we're married anymore,” Eddie rushed to say.

“But she still thinks you're together? Eddie!” she chided.

“I know. I mean, I don't know, I think I was just so in shock. And there was a more pressing issue.”

“More important than your marital status?”

Eddie held up Christopher's workbook open to the page where his essay began, “Did you know about this?”

“No. I knew he was writing about Buckaroo being his hero, but this is the first time I’m seeing the title, Sugar.”

“What am I even supposed to do with this?” Eddie dragged his hand down his face.

“Talk to him.”

“I know I have to. But I have no idea what I’m gonna say. I mean if this is how he sees Buck? How he feels about him−”

“You don't think you should talk to your _husband_ first?” Carla said with a smirk.

“Not funny,” there was no heat to his words, but he really wished he had a wall or a table to thunk his head into, smacking the heal of his palm into his brow would have to suffice.

“Good thing, because I wasn't actually joking. Husband or not. That man loves your son like he was his own. Don't you think you at least owe it to him to let him be a part of the conversation?” and she waited until he looked into her eyes before continuing, holding Christopher’s workbook back out to him, “You need to read this. And then you need to let Buck read it.”

“Then what?”

“ _Then_ , you need to talk to each other. See if you can't work something out. And then you can talk to Christopher, _together_.”

“Right. Together.” 

She wasn’t wrong, when things got muddy, talking things out with Buck always helped Eddie see things more clearly.

“As husbands,” and there Carla went smirking again.

“Carla!”

“Maybe you might want to think why you didn't set that pretty young thing straight,” Carla snorted with a clap, “you know the way that both you and Buck pretty much never correct anyone about you being a couple.”

“We correct people.”

 _Sometimes_ they corrected people. But most of the time it’d be more hassle than it was worth and it was an easy way to keep unwanted attention at bay. Attention from Ms. Flores wouldn’t be unwanted, would it? So why hadn’t he corrected her? 

“You mean when Hen and Chim poke fun? Don't you two usually play along these days?” 

“Only because whenever we deny it, they just laugh more.”

Carla just gave him one of those looks.

Eddie huffed, “You know we’re not together,” but her look didn’t relent, “We’re both straight!”

“Let me just say one thing, _Edmundo_ Diaz. As adorably flustered as that teacher just made you for a minute or two, it’s nothing compared to the full-on heart eyes you direct towards Buck whenever you two are together, and especially not when you’re watching him with Christopher. The way you light up?”

“I…” Eddie didn't know how to finish that sentence, the warmth that filled his chest just thinking about his best friend and his son together, their smiles, the pure and undiluted joy of their shared laughter...

“ _Talk to him_.”

Eddie just nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here it is. A few things.
> 
> 1 - I am freaking the fuck out.  
> 2 - I don't do text speak, so neither do my characters  
> 3 - I'm not sure if I hit the mark on the ability/comprehension level for the excerpt from Chris' essay but Christopher Diaz is a funny, popular, young genius, so just, okay?  
> 4 - *goes back to screaming internally*

Eddie scrubbed his hand down his face, swiping roughly at the tears that trailed down his cheeks, and he worried his lip between his teeth as he slapped both hands onto the steering wheel. 

After leaving the school he hadn’t had the patience to wait until he got home, because he wouldn’t just be going straight home, he’d have to pick up Chris from Abuela’s and then have had to have gone through Christopher’s bedtime routine before even thinking of anything else. So, he’d pulled over into the first convenient place to stop and he’d read Christopher’s essay by the light of his phone, sending off a text to his Abuela first, asking if she wouldn’t mind keeping Christopher a little longer. 

It wasn’t just a retelling of Buck’s heroics during the tsunami, which Eddie now realised he’d never known the full scope of just how heroic Buck had been that day, and that was another conversation that needed to happen, but Christopher also spoke about all the everyday things that Buck did for the two of them.

Having it all laid out like that? Eddie was _overwhelmed_ , to say the least. 

He was pretty sure that last paragraph was etched into his brain by now, he didn’t know how many times he’d read it over, but he couldn’t make himself look away from his son’s somewhat untidy handwriting −something else he was getting better at every day− fingers reverent as they lightly traced over the words.

It was no mistake that Christopher hadn’t let him see this. Eddie knew that with an absolute certainty.

 _That kid_.

He really did need to have a talk with him. But Carla was right. He needed to talk to his−…he needed to talk to Buck first.

He picked his phone back up from where he’d dropped it onto the passenger seat and switched off the torch, pulling up his messages, he opened up his chat with Buck which sat right there at the top, his most recent contact. Buck had texted him within a minute of his Abuela’s reply, telling Eddie he was on his way home from Maddie’s.

_Hey, are you home yet?_

_With a lighter wallet. What’s up?_

Eddie’s lips twitched into the smallest of smiles at that.

_You really need to stop letting your big sister take your money like that._

_One day I’ll win it all back. You’ll see._

_Mhmm. Sure._

_Did you need something?_

_You mind if I come over?_

_Of course not._

_Thanks, man. See you shortly._

Buck sent him back a thumbs up and a kissy winky face.

Eddie shook his head with a short huff of a laugh, it wasn’t unusual for Buck to send love related emojis to Eddie, he used them all the time. They were best friends, they loved each other. It wasn’t weird or romantic or sexual. They were like virtual shoulder bumps or whatever. It wasn’t a big deal, and normally he wouldn’t have read anything into it. Only now he maybe wanted there to be something to read into. He just wasn’t so sure that Buck meant anything more by it.

Not twenty minutes later he was stood in front of Buck’s door, Chris’ workbook clutched in his hand, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to knock or god forbid use his key. He let out a dry chuckle of frustration. He didn’t even know why he was so worked up about this. Almost every single day of their working lives together, and even outside of their working lives, someone −inevitably at this point− mistook them for a couple. Or else a member of the firefam was teasing them about their closeness. Calling them boyfriends or work-husbands. 

It wasn’t a new occurrence. But maybe it was more the fact that Eddie had never even considered that there might come a day when he’d maybe want to make a correction. Apparently, it still hadn’t. Or maybe it was the thought of Buck wanting to make one. The thought of Buck pulling back, pulling away. Not coming around as much anymore. The thought that _their_ personal space would no longer be _theirs_. That one day Buck would find someone else to share his with, because of course he would.

And Eddie really needed to assess just how comfortable he was with Buck being in his personal space that he no longer thought of it simply as his own.

He just barely registered the movement of the door and then his eyes locked with Buck’s.

“Eddie, what are you−,” but Buck didn’t let himself complete that thought as he seemed to really take Eddie in. It wasn’t like Eddie had been able to do anything to hide the fact that he’d been crying, “Shit, Eds. What’s wrong? Is something wrong with Chris? Did they say something at parents’ night? He’s not being bullied, is he−?”

“Buck,” Eddie huffed a laugh, shaking his head as he placed a hand on Buck’s shoulder, “Everything is fine with Chris. Better than. He got glowing reviews across the board.”

“Well of course he did. He’s the smartest kid in the world,” Buck said so earnestly and with the softest smile, it made Eddie’s heart melt, and then Buck’s brow furrowed adorably, “But if everything’s good with Chris, then why are you−? Eddie, what’s going on?” 

“Think we could maybe head inside first? I’d rather not have this conversation in the hall.”

“Shit, right. Of course. Come in,” Buck shook his head, stepping aside to let him by and Eddie walked towards the kitchen island.

“Did you want a beer, or−” Buck started to offer with a shrug.

Eddie just shook his head.

Buck glanced down at the workbook in Eddie’s hands, “Eddie, what is that?”

Eddie cleared his throat, pushing his free hand back through his hair, and he held the workbook out towards Buck, “You need to read this.”

“I thought you wanted to talk?” Buck said, unsure, even as he took the workbook from Eddie’s hands, Eddie’s eyes trained solely on Buck’s as the younger man finally looked down at the first page. 

The title alone had got him choked up, “ _Eddie_ ,” he’d gasped, eyes flicking up to his face, but Eddie just urged him to read with an arch of his eyebrow, tears welling in Buck’s eyes the second he read the first few sentences. A sharp breath or two stabbing out of Buck’s lungs as he continued down the page and onto the next. And Eddie wasn’t fairing much better on the breathing front, his heart racing as he watched Buck’s eyes move across the paper.

Buck had started doing that thing he sometimes did, where he was mouthing along with the words as he read them, only every other word tripping past his lips just under his breath.

The knots in Eddie’s stomach clenching tighter the closer Buck got to the end. So, Eddie knew the exact moment he did, because Buck let out a heart-clenching sob, and Eddie took the workbook from him, so he could read him the last paragraph out loud.

“ _But the biggest reason why Buck is my hero, is because he makes my Dad happy. Before Buck, Dad was always really sad, he always did his best to hide it from me and most of the time it worked. But sometimes I would catch him being sad when he thought I couldn’t see. When Buck’s around I know I don’t have to worry about my Dad, because Buck always knows how to make him smile again. That’s why he’s the greatest hero in the world._ ”

Buck took a very shaky breath, “ _Eds_ −.”

Eddie cupped his cheek, staring deeply into those now watery blue eyes, _dios_ how many hours had he spent staring into those eyes, “I know, _Ev_ ,” and he didn’t know where that came from, he’d never even called him Evan before, but something about it felt right.

And for a moment it seemed like something settled behind Buck’s eyes, a brilliant flash of that gorgeous sunshine smile of his peeking out, before it dimmed in uncertainty, insecurity, like he had to have misread the situation, Buck shook his head, “I didn’t put him up to it, I swear, Eddie. I never even knew−”

“Buck, I know you didn’t. That’s not why I’m here,” it made Eddie feel like a little bit of a jerk that Buck would even consider that this was something Eddie might be mad about.

“Why are you here?”

And that was the question, and Eddie hadn’t been certain himself until Buck started reading Christopher’s essay, “I’m here because he’s right. You are his Dad, Buck.”

Buck’s eyes widened, “What?” 

“You’re Christopher’s Dad too. And he’s right about all the rest of it too, Ev. If I think about my happiest moments, you and Chris are in every one of them.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m _saying_ that I think the reason why I haven’t been in any rush to get back into the dating world, is because I’ve already found who I’m supposed to be with.”

“Meaning _me_?” still in complete and utter disbelief.

“Yes, dumbass. I mean you.”

Buck gave a faint jab to Eddie’s arm for that one, “You’re serious about this?”

“Yeah, Buck. I mean, that is, if it’s what you want too?”

“I’ve never wanted anything else, not like this. God, you and Christopher are everything, Eds.”

“You’re everything to us too.”

“And you’re really okay with the dad thing?”

“He already sees you that way, kinda hard to argue with that. But yeah, I’m okay with it. More than. Are _you_ okay with it?” 

“Am I okay with it? Jesus, Eds, I’m a wreck just reading the word, if he actually says it out loud it might actually kill me. I’m going to be such a mess. You don’t even know how much this means to m-mm−” the word _me_ is smothered between their lips, because Eddie couldn’t wait another second to kiss him, Buck instantly melted into it, his big strong arms wrapping around Eddie’s back and pulling him in closer, Eddie’s own arms settling around Buck.

It really was everything, it just felt so _right_. And for the first time in a long time Eddie felt whole.

Buck laughed, the most beautiful laugh, wet with tears, as they pulled back just enough to breathe, their foreheads resting together, “Is this really happening?”

Eddie pinched his side.

“Ow!” Buck pouted and he smacked Eddie’s chest playfully in retaliation, as he took a half step back, making Eddie laugh this time.

Eddie made sure that Buck was looking him in the eyes as he said, “This is happening, Buck,” his voice firm.

Sure.

Buck smiled, one hand closing in Eddie’s shirt, the fingers of his other hand tapping against Eddie’s watch, “What about Chris−?”

“You want to come get him with me?”

Buck’s smile getting almost impossibly brighter, “I’d really like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 - I just really like 'Ev' for some reason


End file.
